FOI

The FOI also asked the length of service of the longest serving agency worker employed by the council and was told that they had been doing the job for 13 years.

"The ICO has taken enforcement action against 15 police forces because of their FOI failings, which is more than one in three forces nationally, and is the worst record of any part of the public sector," he said.

It also said it could not share records of when it had conducted public interest tests or if and when it had favoured the disclosure of information that was in the spirit of FOI laws.

Author Martin Rosenbaum, a former FOI lead for the BBC, said the performance of police forces when it came to handling FOI requests had "seriously deteriorated".

The ICO spokesperson said there was nothing to stop public bodies like the police seeking advice from a central body on how to correctly interpret the law, but it must not stop them meeting deadlines for responses or any other FOI requirements.